View full sizeThe OregonianA northern spotted owl takes flight with a mouse offered as bait by BLM biologists conducting an annual check-up on the owl population in old-growth forest of Quines Creek, northeast of Grants Pass June 6, 2000. The red eyes are from the photographer's flash.

CORVALLIS — The northern spotted owl would actually benefit in the long run from active management of the forest lands that form its primary habitat and are increasingly vulnerable to stand-replacing fire, researchers conclude in a recent study announced today by Oregon State University.

Any short-term drawbacks from logging, thinning or other fuel-reduction activities would be more than offset by improved forest health and fire-resistance characteristics, the scientists said, which allow more spotted owl habitat to survive in later decades.

The findings were published in Forest Ecology and Management, a professional journal, by researchers from Oregon State University and Michigan State University. -- The Oregonian